Magic & Myths: The Lightning Thief
by CaChrisSo
Summary: Skylar was different. A good kind of different. She was so different that people that were different thought she was different. If that makes any sense. She was different because having magic and being a teenager didn't seem to be different enough. Being a child of Olympus had to be thrown into the mix. (OC story)
1. Returning

I entered the Arrivals terminal, staring at my surroundings. I probably looked really weird, doing that, looking around as if I'd never seen an airport in my entire life. But you'd be like that too, if you had just come back from spending 9 months in an enchanted castle in Britain, getting an education in wizardry, while trying to stop yourself being killed by a three-headed dog, a troll, an evil plant and a life-sized chessboard with a mind of it's own. So don't be hasty in judging me, if you happened to be there, my life is odd in so many ways. But I love it.  
>Coming towards me was a bearded man in a wheelchair and a blonde haired boy with a scar running down the side of his face. I smiled, and ran to them. I rammed my luggage cart into the boy (in a totally friendly loving sort of way) and focused all my attention on the man.<p>

"Skylar." he said, smiling up at me

"Chiron, it's been awhile!"

"I trust you had a good year?"

"Depends on your definition of 'good'?"

That made him smile more. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, it was a pretty amazing year!" I finally answered. Suddenly, I was enveloped in a hug (attacked being the better word) from a gangly spotty ginger dude on crutches that smelled like a barn.

"SKYYYLARR!"

"Oww", he'd hit my head with his crutches.

When I came back to earth, I said "Hey Grove, good to see you!"

He pulled back on the hug, letting me breathe. "Did you get attacked by any monsters?"

"Ooh, loads!"

He laughed. "So you had a normal year, then?" He said, smirking.

"As normal as it gets when you're me."

And trust me, that's DEFINITELY different to your kind of normal. You see I'm a wizard. And a demigod. Or, well, I'm kind of a demigod, but I'll go back to that later.  
>Anyway, being one of them is bad enough, being both? I'm surprised to even see my 12th birthday.<p>

My life is full of monsters, gods and goddesses, witches and wizard, magic (lots of it) and the sort of problems you have when you live a completely mortal life, free of all of the above. So my life is complicated and hectic and confusing, but fantastic and thrilling too, so I wouldn't have it any other way.  
>I turned my attention to the boy I had hit with my cart. He had short, messy golden hair, bright blue eyes and a big smile on his face that was marred by a long jagged scar running down from the side of his eye to the corner of his mouth. Luke Castellan, son of Hermes and my friend.<p>

"Hey boy!" I said, punching him lightly.

"Ouch," He made a face, pretending to be hurt. "Hello, Thorn, good to see you haven't changed!"

"Good to see you haven't changed either, Blondie!"

Luke glared at me. I laughed at his expression.

"Well, you've greeted everyone now, except for Argus, who is waiting for us in the van with your bags." Chiron interrupted, as Luke was about to retaliate.

"But I thought they were-" I started to say, but the luggage cart had disappeared, along with my bags. There was a reason why I called Argus the many eyed James Bond, he was sneakier than a hellhound in bunny slippers (let's just say, you don't wanna know). So we all left the airport, and on the way, I told them what adventures I'd been on and the friends (and enemies)  
>I'd made. Grover was interested in the banquets we had ("You mean, the food just appeared there?").<br>Chiron wanted to hear about my best friend Harry's invisibility cloak ("Hmmm, reminds me of Annabeth's baseball cap."). And Luke only began to pay attention when we talked about wands.  
>("How could a rod of wood protect you from monsters?") We talked about Quidditch, the subjects, the houses (I'm Gryffindor, by the way), and about Hagrid and his hellhound, Fang (although he doesn't know he's a hellhound, oddly enough).<p>

As I got closer to CampHalf Blood, my heart started to beat faster with anticipation. "I'm coming home, to one of my homes," I thought, "I'm going to see Annabeth and Will, and all the others, and this summer is going to be amazing!" I should've been excited, or at least happy,  
>but instead, my stomach felt sick, as if a rug had been pulled from underneath me, or I'd missed a step climbing up the stairs. As if something was about to happen. Not good. Not bad. Just life-changing.<p>

We pulled up outside camp, and the van was filled with silence. I realised they were all looking at me. "Thorn, you feeling okay?" Grover asked, a look of worry on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine!"

"Are you sure, Skylar? You look a bit-" Chiron started to ask.

"I'm fine; just feel a little car sick."

I got the feeling he didn't believe me, but if that was the case, he didn't say anything.

We got out of the car, unloaded my bags and started to walk up to the camp's border, which separated the mortal world from our world. Crossing over, I let out a sigh of relief. Argus looked over, curiosity and question in the many eyes I could see.

I smiled at him, finally feeling that rush of emotions I'd been waiting for.

"It's just good to be home!" I said, and made my way into camp.


	2. Mumblebore and Johnson

Everything looked the same as usual. Same strawberry field, same Big House, same Mr D. I sighed, and went to greet him.  
>"Good day, sir!" I said, trying to be cheerful. Kinda hard when you're talking to someone who could scowl for Olympus. And the world, for that matter.<p>

"Well, you're back then, Mumblebore."

"Dumbledore, sir" I corrected him, rolling my eyes.

"Whatever!"

I left him mumbling to himself grumpily. No wonder they sent him here. How could you listen to him go on and on for all eternity. I pitied the gods at that moment. But I pitied us at Camp Half-Blood more.

I crossed over to Athena cabin, searching for one person in particular. When I saw her, I couldn't help but smile. Same old Annabeth, stuck in a book about Architecture written in Ancient Greek.

"Annabeth..." I called, in a sing-song voice. She looked up, dazed by the light streaming in the room through the open door behind me. She finally noticed me and ran to me faster than a dryad running away from a satyr.

"Thorn!" She pulled me into a bone-breaking hug.

"I've missed you so much, you're never leaving me here with Clarisse ever again!" I had to laugh, the poor child meant it.

"What about Luke?" I asked, grinning evily.

She blushed. "What ABOUT Luke?" I didn't answer, and beckoned for her to follow me. "Come on, I've got to make sure nothing has changed since I left!"

We wandered around camp, going into the cabins to say hello to the campers and re-familiarising myself with everything. Everytime we walked around a corner, I half-expected Peeves, the poltergeist at Hogwarts, to ambush me with Never-wearing Glue and Hippogriff feathers.

It made me feel sad, in a way. No surprises like that for awhile.  
>Every ten seconds, Annabeth would yawn. I found it funny, and said,"Am I seriously that boring?"<p>

"What! No, I'm just seriously tired!"

"Why, what have you been doing that has you sooo tired?"

"I've been nursing a demigod back to health in the infirmary!" she said, indigantly.

"Oh, what happened to them?"

"He got chased up to the camp boundaries by the Minotaur, saw his mother sacrifice herself for his safety, killed said Minotaur, dragged Grover up to the Big House while he was half-dead and collapsed on the porch, hysterical."

"...Woah...poor guy, has he recovered?"

"Yeah, he should be healthy enough to see Mr.D today or tomorrow."

"Well, you've been busy then."

"Exceedingly so."

I laughed."Let's go to the Big House!"

We walked up to the Big House, and ran into Mr.D and Chiron playing pinochle. We had nothing better to do so we decided to watch. About 10 minutes into the game, I noticed Grover and a dark-haired boy walking towards us. The boy looked tired and weak, and clenched a bloody horn tightly in his hand. He looked sick and exhausted and lost. Grover kept glancing at him, as if he was worried the boy would fall over or break down in tears. I leant against the porch railing and watched their approach.

Percy's POV:

The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse.

My legs felt wobbly trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held onto it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go.

As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath.

We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to Long Island Sound, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture - an open-air pavilion, an amphitheatre, a circular arena - except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball.

Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings.

Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blonde-haired girl who'd spoon-fed me popcorn-flavoured pudding and a brown-haired girl I had never seen before, who was watching us, were leaning on the porch rail next to them.

The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes and curly hair so black it was almost purple. he looked like those paintings of baby angels - what do you call them, hubbubs? No, cherubs. That's it. he looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park. He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my stepfather.

"That's Mr D," Grover murmured to me."He's the camp director. Be polite. The blonde girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She looked after you while I was busy. The brunette, is Skylar Dumbledore. She's just a camp councillor, but she's been here longer than everyone else, and is kinda like, THE boss, but she's super cool, even though she seems scary 'cus she's the most powerful here. And you already know Chiron..."

I was just about to ask "She's the most powerful what?", but then he pointed at the guy whose back was to me.

First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair. Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.

"Mr. Brunner" I cried.

The Latin teacher turend and smiled at me. his eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers B.

"Ah, good, Percy," he said."Now we have four for pinochle."

He offered me a chair to the right of Mr D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now don't expect me to be glad to see you."

"Uh, thanks," I scooted a little further away from him because, if there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice.  
>If Mr D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.<p>

"Annabeth? Skylar?" Mr Brunner called to the blonde and brunette.

They came forward and Mr Brunner introduced us. "Annabeth here nursed you back to health, Percy.  
>Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."<p>

Annabeth said "Sure, Chiron."

She was probably my age, maybe a couple of centimetres taller, and a whole lot more athletic-looking.  
>With her deep tan and her curly blonde hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a sterotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image. They were a startling grey, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she was analysing the best way to take me down in a fight.<p>

She glanced at the Minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, You killed a Minotaur! or Wow, you're so awesome! or something like that.

Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep."

Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blonde hair flying behind her.

Mr Brunner smiled. "And Skylar here, will be your guide in camp and help you settle in."

I looked at her. She was smiling at me, and I could feel myself smile back. I forced myself to keep looking at her. She had chocolate brown hair that reached the middle of her back, pale creamy skin, with rosy cheeks, full heart shaped lips and hazel brown eyes, that were friendly,  
>that seemed to tell me everything was okay, that she'd personally make sure of it herself.<p>

I relaxed, and held out my hand. "Percy." She shook it. "Skylar, but you can call me Thorn if you want, everyone else does." I grinned at her, and turned to face Mr Brunner.

"So," I said,"You, uh, work here, Mr Brunner?"

"Not Mr Brunner," the ex-Mr Brunner said. "I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron."

"Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director." And Mr D... does that stand for something?"

Mr D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

Skylar stuck her tongue out from behind Mr D. "So is that why you always get mine wrong, then?" I had to force myself not to laugh.

"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."

"House call?"

"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to... ah, take a leave of abscence."

I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr Brunner had taken the class.

"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked.

Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first. We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test."  
>"Grover," Mr D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"<br>"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt.

"You do know how to play pinochle?" Mr D eyed me suspiciously.

"I'm afraid not," I said.

"I'm afraid not, sir," he said.

"Sir," I repeated. I was liking the sitting the camp director less and less. Skylar rolled her eyes,  
>agreeing with my thoughts.<p>

"Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans, I would expect all civilised young men to know the rules."

"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said.

"Please," I said,"what is this place? Mr Brun - Chiron - why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?"

Mr D snorted. " I asked the same question."

The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile.

Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was. I was his star student. He expected me to have the right answer.

"Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?"

Skylar's POV

"Poor boy," I thought, "His mother's just died and he's interrogated by a grumpy God and horse."

"She said..." Percy started. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."

I looked at him. His eyes, sea-green, looked as sad and gloomy as the ocean on a stormy day. I felt like crying for him.

"Typical," Mr D said. "That's how they usually get killed. Young man, are you bidding or not?"

"What?" Percy asked.

Mr D rolled his eyes, and explained, impatiently, how to bid in pinochle. Percy bid.

"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."

"Orientation film?" Percy asked.

"No," Chiron decided. "I think I'll let Skylar explain it to you."

"What!," I thought, as I glared at him. "Trust Chiron to give me the hard jobs!"

I sighed and started to explain. "Percy?" He looked up at me, looked me straight in the eyes. I felt my heart skip a beat. Bad Skylar, bad!

"You know Grover is a satyr. You know that you've killed a Minotaur. Not an easy thing, either.  
>What you don't know, or might not know, is that greater powers than us are at work in your life,<br>my life and our lives. Gods - the forces you call the Greek gods - are real."

Percy stared at Chiron, then Mr D, and finally me. He looked as if he were waiting for the punchline of a joke, except there wasn't one.

Mr D yelled "Oh, a royal marriage, Trick! Trick!" cackling as he tallied up his points.

"Mr D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"

"Eh? Oh, all right."

Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminium can and chewed it mournfully.

"Wait," Percy told me. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God."

"Hmmm, God, with a capital G? Different thing altogether! Let's not deal with the metaphysical!"  
>I replied.<p>

"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about -"

"Gods, plural. Great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavours: the gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter."

"Smaller!"

"Yes, quite." Chiron interrupted. "The gods we discussed in Latin class."

"Zeus," Percy said. "Hera, Apollo. You mean them."

Thunder rumbled in the distance, sounding odd against the backdrop of a cloudless sky.

"Young man," said Mr D. "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around if I were you."

"But they're stories," Percy said. "They're - myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science."

"Science!" Mr D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson -" Percy flinched at the sound of his name. "- what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr D continued.  
>"Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals - they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come soooo far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."<p>

Percy's POV:

I wasn't liking Mr D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal..as if..he wasn't. It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.

"Percy," Skylar said, "you might not believe it, but immortal means immortal. Can you imagine never dying? Never fading? Existing the way you are for all time?"

I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal, but tone of her voice made me hesitate.

"You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said.

"Yes," Skylar agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning?"  
>Chiron interrupted. "What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that someday people would call you a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?<p>

My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him.  
>I said "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."<p>

"Oh, you'd better," Mr D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you."

Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."

"A lucky thing, too," Mr D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe!"

He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily and woven the air into glass. The goblet fillef itself with red wine.

My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.

"Mr D," he warned, "your restrictions."

Mr D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.

"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled,"Old habits! Sorry!"

More thunder.

Mr D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda. Skylar coughed loudly. He glared at her, waved his hand for a third time, producing a can of Coca-Cola, and went back to his card game. She picked it up, popped the can and said "Cheers!"

Chiron winked at me, "Mr D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."

"A wood nymph." I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.

"Yes," Mr D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time -well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away - the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you.  
>"Be a better influence," he told me. "Work with youths rather than tearing them down." Ha!<br>Absolutely unfair."  
>Mr D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid.<p>

"And..." I stammered,"your father is..."

"Di immortales, Chiron," Mr D said. "i thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus,  
>of course."<p>

I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr D were his master.

"You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine."

Mr D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, "Well, duh"?"

"Y-yes, Mr D."

"Then, "Well, duh!" Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"

"You're a god."

"Yes, child."

"A god. You."

He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust,  
>sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts.<br>I knew that if I pushed him, Mr D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a straitjacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life.

"Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly.

"No. No, sir."

The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."

"Not quite, Mr D," Chiron said. He sat down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."

I thought Mr D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher. He got up, and Grover rose too.

"I'm tired," Mr D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first,  
>Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment."<p>

Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir."

Mr D turned to me. "Cabin 11, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."

He swept into the farmhouse. Grover following miserably, after Skylar sent him a sympathetic look.

"Will Grover be okay?" I asked her.

Skylar nodded, looking a bit troubled. "Mr D isn't really mad. he just hates his job. He's been 'grounded' and he can't stand that he has to wait another hundred years before he can go home to Olympus."

"Mount Olympus," I said, "You're telling me there really is a palace there?"

"Well, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, which used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, in respect to the way things used to be, but the palace moves, Percy, just like the gods do."

"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like... in America?"

"Well, yeah. The gods move with the heart of the West."

"The what?"

Skylar's POV:

Just as I was about to answer, Chiron interrupted...again.

"Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization'. Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for..."

I began to doze. I'd heard Chiron say almost the exact same speech everytime there was new camper. I almost know every word. I started to wonder about the feeling I'd gotten in the van.  
>I tend to listen (listen being the best word right now. It's not like I talk to my feelings.)<br>to how my guts, because they normally tend to help me in sticky situations. This beginning to seem like one. I frowned, hating it. "Why can't I figure my guts out right now?" I repeated that in my head, over and over, until I realised Percy and Chiron were looking at me. I blushed. "Skylar, could you bring Percy down to his cabin and then maybe you could show him around?" Chiron asked. I noticed he was no longer tucked into his wheelchair.

I nodded. I meantally shook myself awake, and looked down at Percy, who was still sitting down.  
>I smiled at him. "Come on then, Percy. Let's meet the other campers." He smiled back, and we stepped down off the poch, in the direction of the cabins.<p> 


	3. Realisation

Percy's POV

Skylar brought me on a pretty cool tour. She could understand how weird I felt, what with the 'Gods are real/Your Latin teacher's a horse' thing. For the first time since I came to this place, I felt like I could finally breathe. I was no longer being supervised 24/7 by an anxious goat-boy and a scary blonde. I could relax, and finally get used to this place. Maybe it could become like a home, since there's no way in hell I'm going back to living with Smelly Gabe, but without my mother. No frickin' way. Anyway, rant over, back to reality.

We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the Minotaur horn I was carrying. Another said, 'That's him.' He didn't even bother whispering, so me and Skylar both heard. I saw her shoot him a look that immediately shut him up. It felt nice to have someone on my side for a change. I thanked her with a smile and we continued on. Most of the campers were older than me. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, all of them trotting around in nothing but orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts. I wasn't normally shy, but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable. I felt like they were expecting me to do a backflip or something. A guy around my age with straight longish blonde hair came running up to us.

"Thorn, you're back!" he exclaimed, smiling.

"Hey, Will." Skylar smiled back.

"How was it?" He asked. I wondered. "How was what?"

Her face brightened. "Great, I learned loads of new ways to kick your ass!"

He stuck his tongue out playfully. "As if!" He turned to me. "You must be Percy, Grover told me about you." He glanced at the horn, but I could see straight away he meant well.

I smiled. "Yeah, I'm Percy."

He stuck out his hand to shake. "Will Solace, Son of Apollo."

I shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

He grinned. "If you ever need extra archery lessons, look for me!"

"Uhh, thanks!"

He laughed. "See you later, Percy. Skylar."

She waved goodbye, looked at me. "Come on, Percy, there's a lot more to see."

We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe. Skylar told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus.

"It pays for everything", she explained "And with Mr D around, they just grow like crazy!"

I stared at her.

She laughed at my face, "Mr D has this effect on fruit-bearing plants that makes them grow faster and better. It works better with wine grapes, understandably, but he's been restricted from growing those, so we grow strawberries instead."

I nodded, no longer confused. This gods with powers thing would take a little while to get used to.

I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music made lines of bugs leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire. I wondered if Grover could work magic like that. I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, being lectured by Mr D.

"Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" I asked Skylar. "I mean... he was a good protector. Really."

Skylar sighed. She lead me over to a lone bench, overlooking the volleyball court. "I know he is, Percy. It's just...Grover has big dreams. Bigger than what most think are reasonable. To fulfil his dreams he must demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."

"But he did that!"

"I agree with you," Skylar said. "But my opinion doesn't count. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. And they might not see this assignment they way we do, as a success. Grover lost you in New York. Then there's what happened to your mother."

She reached for my hand, comfortingly. "And the fact that Grover was knocked out when you dragged him over the property line, makes the council question if this shows any courage from Grover."

I wanted to protest. None of what had happened was Grover's fault. I also felt really, really guilty. If I hadn't given Grover the slip at the bus station, he might not have got in trouble.

"He'll get a second chance, won't he?"

Skylar winced. "That was Grover's second chance, Percy. The council didn't want to give him another,either, after what happened the first time, five years ago. I told him to wait, but he insisted, so I persuaded them to give it to him. They agreed, but said if he didn't succeed, he'd have to pick another career..."

"That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"

As I said that, I swear I saw Skylar's eyes turn a murky grey. "Shall we move on?"

But I wasn't ready to drop the subject. Something had occurred to me when Skylar talked about my mother, as if she was intentionally avoiding the word death. The beginnings of an idea - a tiny, hopeful fire - started forming in my mind.

"Skylar," I said. She looked at me, her eyes were now a muddy brown, not the same chocolate colour they had been before. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real..."

"Yes...?"

"Does that meant the Underworld is real, too?"

Skylar's expression darkened, her eyes turned a steely grey, sharpening by the minute. They looked similar to Annabeth's.

"Yes." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "There is a place where the dead go. But for now...until we know more...I think it's best you put that out of your mind."

"What do you mean, "until we know more"? I smiled, cheekily, so I didn't seem too persisitant.

She winked. Her eyes, I guess you could say, 'cheered up'. "Come on, Percy. You've gotta see the woods."

As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans.

Skylar said, "The woods are stocked, if you want to try your luck, but don't go unarmed."

"Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"

"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. I'm guessing you don't have your own sword and shield, so I'll visit the armoury later and get you some. I think a size five might do."

I wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armoury, but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables (which made Skylar's eyes brighten up and go golden.), the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheatre, and the arena where Skylar said they had sword and spear fights.

"Sword and spear fights?" I asked.

"Cabin challenges, and all that," she explained. "Not lethal, most of the time. Oh, and there's the mess hall."

Skylar pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.

"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.

Skylar laughed at that. "We still have to eat, Percy." I decided to drop the subject.

Finally, she showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen.

Except for the fact that each cabin had a large brass number above the door, they looked in no-way alike. Number nine had smokestacks like a tiny factory. Number four had tomato vines on the wall and a roof made out of glass. Seven seemed to be made out of solid gold, which gleamed so much you'd need sunglasses to look at it. They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were more my speed).

In the centre of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smouldered. Skylar waved fondly at a girl that looked about nine years old that was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick.

The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. It's polished bronze doors shimmered like a holograph, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them. Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.

"Zeus and Hera?" I guessed.

"Yup," Skylar said.

"Their cabins look empty."

"A few of the cabins are. I'm the only one who ever stays in one or two."

I sent her a questioning look. She smiled back, sheepishly, almost. "It's a long story, but on a technicality, I'm allowed stay in any of the cabins."

I nodded, sure that I'd hear this story eventually. I walked ahead, stopping in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three.

It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough grey stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor. I peeked inside the open doorway.

Skylar's POV

I watched Percy glance inside. I knew Chiron wouldn't approve of it, but it gave me the opportunity to observe him. I was pretty sure if I'd told him not to, he still would've have looked. He seemed kind of stubborn. He had green eyes, that shimmered like the waters of the ocean. Black hair, the colour of the sea's darkest depths. And of all the cabins, he chose Cabin three to be curious about. If my guts weren't lying, which I'm sure they can't do (who ever heard of organs lying?), I was pretty sure I knew who Percy's parent was, and whenever Percy would be claimed, it would be the start of a lot of things. Some good. And some bad. We were in for one hell of a ride. Suddenly, the way I felt when we arrived made a lot of sense.  
>I breathed out heavily, and walked upto Percy.<p>

Percy's POV

I felt a soft pressure on my shoulder. "Come on, Percy."


	4. Cabin 11

Percy's POV Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers. Number five was bright red-a real nasty paint job, as if the colour had been splashed on with buckets and fists. The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway, and its eyes seemed to follow me. Inside I could see a bunch of mean-looking kids, both girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared. The loudest was a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen. She wore a size XXXL Camp Half-Blood T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. She zeroed in on me and gave me an evil sneer. she reminded me of Nancy Bobofit, though the camper girl was much bigger and tougher looking, and her hair was long and stringy, and blonde instead of red.

We kept walking, and I noticed something about our surroundings.

"We haven't seen any centaurs, except for Chiron," I observed, trying to distract myself.

"No," Skylar said. "Most centaurs are wild and barbaric,  
>I'm afraid. I've only ever seen them in the wilderness or at sports events."<p>

"He said his name was Chiron. Is he really..."

She smiled at me. "The Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and Achilles and all the rest? Yeah, Percy, he is."

"But, shouldn't he be dead?"

"Hmm, should be? The truth is, he can't be. Aeons ago the gods granted his wish. He could continue to be a teacher of heroes, as long as humanity needed him. He's still here, so he's still needed."

I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years.  
>It wouldn't have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list.<p>

"Do you think it ever get boring?"

She laughed. Her laugh was addictive. "There's not enough time to get bored around here."

"What kind of things would you do here?"

"We'll talk about that later, it's time to meet your cabin."

The blonde girl I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven.  
>When we reached her, she looked me over critically, like she was thinking about how much I drooled.<p>

I tried to see what she was reading, but I couldn't make out the title. I thought my dyslexia was acting up. Then I realized the title wasn't even English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean, literally Greek. There were pictures of temples and statues and different kinds of columns,like those in an architecture book.

"Annabeth," Skylar said,"I have Masters' greek mythology class at noon. Could you take over that class for me?"

"Sure, Thorn."

She leapt up to go, but turned towards us before she left. "I'll see you two at dinner."

"Well, then," Skylar told me, gesturing towards the doorway.

Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular old summer camp cabin, with the emphasis on old. The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it? Oh yeah, a caduceus.

Inside was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation centre.

As Skylar came in, the campers all stood and bowed respectfully. She flushed slightly, seeming embarassed by it, but she said nothing.

I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren't bowing any more. They were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.

Skylar turned to me, and inclined for me to come in. So naturally I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself. There were some snickers from the campers,  
>but none of them said anything.<p>

Skylar walked back to me. "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven."

"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.

I didn't know what to say. Skylar paused, then said, "Undetermined."

Everybody groaned.

A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward.

"Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome,  
>Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."<p>

The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals and a leather necklace with five different-  
>coloured clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash.<p>

"This is Luke," Skylar said. "He's your counsellor for now."

"For now?" I asked.

"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travellers"

I looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given me. I had nothing to put there to mark it as my own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. I thought about setting that down, but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.

I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly, some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.

"How long will I be here?" I asked.

"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined."

"How long will that take?"

The campers all laughed. "Not long, Percy," Skylar said,  
>looking around at them. They stopped, staring back, eyes huge. "Come on, let's go see the volleyball court."<p>

"Again?"

"Come on."

She grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. I could hear hushed whisperings inside the cabin behind me.

When we were a few metres away, Skylar said. "Ignore them, Percy."

"What's their problem?"

"Most of them are undetermined. They're bitter and tired of being crammed together."

"Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there."

I pointed to the first few cabins, and Skylar turned pale. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or...your parent."

She stared at me, waiting for me to get it.

"My mom is Sally Jackson," I said. "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."

She stood there, looking at me for a moment, then threw her arms around me. I hugged back, and I know it's kind of weird, but I really needed that hug. She let go, her face softened, her eyes a deep greeny-blue.

"I'm sorry, Percy, about your mom. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad."

"He's dead. I never knew him."

"Your father's not dead."

"So you know him then?"

"I'm not definite on who he is."

"If you're not definite on who he is, how can you say he isn't dead?"

"Because I know you. You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."

"And what are we, exactly?"

"Half-bloods."

Half-bloods. I'm a half-blood. A half-blood.

I was reeling with so many questions I didn't know where to start. But I gave it a try.

"How do you know that I'm a half-blood?"

"You're diagnosed with dyslexia. Maybe ADHD, as well."

I tried to swallow my embarassment."What does that have to do with anything?"

"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read because your mind is hardwired for Ancient Greek. And the ADHD? That's your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. Your attention problems are because you see too much, not too little. You have better senses than a regular mortal. And if you weren't a half-blood, you couldn't have survived the ambrosia and nectar."

"Ambrosia and nectar."

"The food and drink you were given to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid."

"I'm...so confused right now."

She threw an arm around my shoulders. "That, my friend, is what I'm here for."

Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!" 


	5. The Toilets become Water Fountains

'Clarisse,'Skylar sighed. 'Why don't you go polish your spear or something?'

'Sure, Princess,' the big girl said. 'So I can run through with it Friday night.'

Skylar's eyes blazed a brilliant red, her pupils and irises growing brighter every second. I could see flecks of orange and yellow and could imagine a fire burning inside her head. 'Errete es korakas,' Skylar said, which I somehow understood was Greek for "Go to the crows", though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded. 'You don't stand a chance.'

'We'll pulverize you,' Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn't sure she could follow through on the threat. Maybe it was just Skylar's eyes. I sure was glad I wasn't the reason they were like that. She turned towards me. 'Who's this little runt?'

'Percy Jackson,' Skylar said, 'meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares.'

I blinked. 'Like...the war god?'

Clarisse sneered. 'You got a problem with that?'

'No,' I said, recovering my wits. 'It explains the bad smell.'

Clarisse growled. 'We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy.'

'Percy.'

'Whatever. Come on, I'll show you.'

'Clarisse-' Skylar tried to say.

'Stay out of it, Withered Weed.'

Skylar looked indignant, but she did stay out of it, and I didn't really want her help. I was the new kid. I had to earn my own rep.

I handed Skylar my Minotaur horn and get ready to fight, but before I knew it, Clarisse had me by the neck and was dragging me towards a cinder-block building that I knew immediately was the bathroom.

I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron. She dragged me into the girls' bathroom. There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. It smelled just like any public bathroom, and I was thinking - as much as I could think with Clarisse ripping my hair out - that if this place belonged to the gods, they should've been able to afford classier toilets.

Clarisse's friends were all laughing, and I was trying to find the strength I'd used to fight the Minotair, but it just wasn't there.

'Like he's "Big Three" material,' Clarisse said as she pushed towards one of the toilets. 'Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid-looking.'

Her friends snickered.

Skylar stood in the corner, watching through her fingers.

Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started pushing my head towards the toilet bowl. It reeked like rusted pipes and , well, like what goes into toilets. I strained to keep my head up. I was looking at the scummy water thinking, I will not go into that. I won't.

Then something happened. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach. I heard the plumbing rumble, the pipes shudder. Clarisse's grip on my hair loosened. Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over my head, and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse screaming behind me.

I turned just as water blasted out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse straight in the face so hard it pushed her down onto her butt. The water stayed on her like the spray from a fire hose, pushing her backwards into a shower stall.

She struggled, gasping, and her friends started coming towards her. But then the toilets exploded, too, and six more streams of toilet water blasted them back. The showers acted up, too, and together all the fixtures sprayed the camouflage girls right out of the bathroom, spinning them around like pieces of garbage being washed away.

As soon as they were out the door, I felt the tug in my gut lessen, and the water shut off as quickly as it had started.

The entire bathroom was flooded. Skylar had been, surprisingly, spared. As I looked at her, I got the feeling she was meant to be wet. The floor around her was all wet and she was standing in exactly the same place, staring at me in shock.

I looked down and realized I was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room. There was a circle of dry floor around me. i didn't have one drop of water on my clothes. Nothing.

I stood up, my legs shaky.

Skylar said, 'Are you ok?'

'Yeah.'

'Do you know how...'

'Nope.'

We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were sprawled in the mud, and a bunch of other campers had gathered around to gawk. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her face. Her camouflage jacket was sopping and she smelled like sewage. She gave me a look of absolute hatred. 'You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead.'

I probably should have let it go, but I said, 'You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth.'

Her friends had to hold her back. They dragged her towards cabin five, while the other campers made way to avoid her flailing feet.

Annabeth ran up to us, stared at the bathroom door, which had been blown off it's hinges, then at Skylar, who was finding it hard to suppress her laughter, while wearing an extremely sober face, and then just stared at me. I couldn't tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for causing such a scene.

'What?' I demanded. 'What are you thinking?'

Annabeth looked at Skylar, who was grinning wickedly, and a smirk grew on her face.

'I'm thinking,' she said, 'that I want you on my team for capture the flag.'

Skylar's POV

Behind the smile, I was hiding something. I was afraid. Afraid for myself, afraid for the world, afraid for everyone at camp and especially, afraid for Percy. That little stunt had confirmed a suspicion that had been growing in me, and the truth would not bring good, especially not right now. I wasn't going to tell anyone, except Chiron.  
>For Percy's sake, he shouldn't find out who he is, not until the right time. For now, he has to remain "the boy who exploded the bathrooms". If only he could be only that for longer,because if I knew the camp, everyone will have guessed by dinner.<p>

If only.


	6. Bleu, Skylar, Caoimhe and a stray arrow

Word of the bathroom incident spread immediately. Wherever I went, campers pointed at me and murmured something about toilet water. They all stopped, however, as soon as Skylar began glaring at them.

She and Annabeth showed me a few more places: the metal shop (where kids were forging thir own swords), the arts-and-crafts room (where satyrs were sandblasting a giant marble statue of a goat-man), and the climbing wall, which actually consisted of two facing walls that shook violently, dropped boulders, sprayed lava and clashed together if you didn't get to the top fast enough.

Finally we returned to the canoeing lake, wehre the trail led back to the cabins.

"This is where I'll have to leave you, Percy. I have to go see a friend of mine." Skylar said.

"No problem, and Skylar?"

She looked at me before she turned to go. "I'm sorry about the toilets."

She grinned. "Don't worry, Percy, happens to everyone."

"Really?"

She made a face and shrugged her shoulders. "More or less. See you later."

She left leaving me with Annabeth.

She gave me a look of contempt. "The toilets weren't my fault." I told her.

She looked at me sceptically, and I realizes it was my fault. I'd made water shoot out of the bathroom fixtures. I didn't understand how. But the toilets had responded to me. I had become one with the plumbing.

"You need to talk to the Oracle," Annabeth said.

"Who?"

"Not who. What. The Oracle. I'll ask Chiron."

I stared into the lake, wishing she had give me a straight answer for once.

While Annabeth and Percy talked, I made my way over to the Aprhrodite cabin. I took a deep breath before entering the cabin, and wisely so. The amount of perfume in the air was toxic if breathed in. To anyone but the Aphrodite kids. I saw my friend Bleu fixing his hair in the mirror and I silently laughed at him. The boy sure pulled some funny faces. He finally saw my reflection, and whipped around, bright red and embarassed. I smiled up at him. "Heya Bleu."

The flush left the sixteen year olds face, and he returned the smile. "Hello Rosie."

I grimaced at his nickname for me, which made him laugh. I got onto the point.

"Well then, Bleu, where's your sister?"

He smirked, arms crossed. "Which one?"

I rolled my eyes at him. Typical Bleu. "Caoimhe, where is she?"

He paused to think for a moment. Suddenly it occurred to him. "She's down at the archery range,  
>practising with Will."<p>

I reached up and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thanks, Bleu." I said.

"You're welcome." he answered.

As I ran out the door, I heard him call, "You owe me one!"

Entering the archery range, my reflexes were tested as a stray arrow flew towards my face. It was as if time slowed down, and I grabbed it just before impact. Holding it in right in front of my face, I bent my neck to look around it without dropping my arm. There was Caoimhe, blushing furiously with a guilty expression on her face, and Will, who was finding it hard to stand up from all his laughing.

Caoimhe rushed forward and hugged me. "I'm so sorry, I just can't seem to hit the target."

I glanced around the place. Arrows were sticking into everything, except the target. I patted the younger girl's back sympathetically. "It's alright, Caoimhe, not everyone is good at Archery."

She pulled out of the hug and threw the bow that was in her hand on the ground in frustration.

"But I'm not good at anything, I suck at swordfighting, and whenever I try to do the stupid climbing wall, I just end up singeing my hair." The last word in her sentence was an octave higher than the rest, her Aphrodite's child side coming out in her.

"You're good with the pegasi, Caoimhe. And you're really good at painting." Will butted in, putting a consoling arm around his best friend's shoulders.

"Yeah, Caoimhe, and you're really good at your lessons in Ancient Greek, focus on the good points."

"But they're not useful things, they're not gonna help me in a fight against a Hydra, or a Minotaur or a...oh, I dunno, a Basilisk."

I smiled at that last one. Never seen one of those before. I walked over to her and wiped away the sad tears that had begun to fall down her cheeks. "Don't worry, Caoimhe, everything will be fine, you'll see."

And with that last statement, the conch shell sounded, signaling the beginning of dinner.


	7. Who knew burnt food smelt so good?

Percy POV Me and Annabeth had talked for awhile, and then I went back to my new cabin. Luke had found me a sleeping bag, and he had stolen (at least, he said he had) me some toiletries from the camp store. We talked for awhile as well, and seemed to understand how lost I felt, and I was grateful for that, because an older guy like him - even if he was a counsellor - should've steered clear of an uncool middle-schooler like me. But Luke had welcomed me into the cabin. He'd even stolen me some toiletries, which was the nicest thing, other than Skylar trying to make me feel better and showing me around, that anybody had done for me all day.

As our conversation ended, a horn blew in the distance. I knew it was a conch shell, somehow,  
>even though I'd never heard one before.<p>

"Eleven, fall in!"

The whole cabin filed into the commons yard. We lined up in order of seniority, meaning that I was the very last. Campers came form the other cabins too, except for Cabins 1, 2, 3 and 8.

We marched up the hill to the mess hall pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow, and Naiads emerged from the lake. A few girls came out of the woods. Literally straight out of the woods.

In all, there were maybe a hundred campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.

At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but cabin eleven's was way overcrowded. I had to squeeze on to the edge of a bench with half my butt hanging off.

I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr D, a few satyrs and a couple of plump blonde boys who looked just like Mr D. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur.

Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, all with her grey eyes and honey-blonde hair. Skylar sat at table ten, who were all extremely attractive. She was talking to a girl with wavy auburn hair that fell to the top of her shoulders and grey-green eyes, and a boy with straight brown hair and bright blue eyes. She looked up and caught my eye, and I waved. She smiled and saluted me back. Her friends noticed and waved.

Clarisse sat behind me at Ares's table. She'd apparently gotten over being hosed down, because she was laughing and belching right alongside her friends.

Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. 'To the gods!'

Everybody else raised their glasses. 'To the gods!'

Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty, but Luke said,'Speak to it. Whatever you want -  
>non-alcoholic, of course.'<p>

I said,'Cherry Coke.'

The glass filled with sparkling caramel liquid.

Then I had an idea. 'Blue Cherry Coke.'

The soda turned a violent shade of cobalt.

I took a cautious sip. Perfect.

I raised a toast to my mother. she's not gone, I told myself. Not permanently, anyway. She's in the Underworld. And if that's a real place, the some day...

Skylar POV I watched Luke hand Percy a platter of smoked brisket. He loaded his plate and looked confused when everybody got up to offer food to the gods. I got up and walked over to him, my plate filled to the brim. I ate a lot.

'Come on, Percy.' I said as I reached him.

We went up to the brazier, and we watched everyone before us take a portion of their meal and drop it in.

'Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell.' I murmured in his ear.

'You're kidding.'

I gave him a warning look, and he shut up. I approached the fire, bowed my head, and I tossed a cluster of fat red grapes. I paused for a minute, unsure of who to pick. 'Oh, what the hell,  
>everyone of you.' I said, exasperated.<p>

Percy was next. He stood silently in front of the fire, with a look of desperation on his face. I felt pity for him flood through me. Finally, he scraped a big slice of brisket into the flames. He walked away, seemingly awed by the beautiful smell that had emerged from the fire. I patted his shoulder comfortingly, and we both walked back to the tables we had been sitting at.

I was sitting at cabin ten's table, not because I had to, like the other occupants,  
>but because I wanted to. One of the good things about my weird parentage, I was able to pretty much do what I wanted. I could sit at any table and sleep in any cabin. But it meant that I really didn't belong anywhere, even though I could belong everywhere. If that makes sense.<p>

When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention.

Mr D got up with a huge sigh. 'Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday. Cabin five presently holds the laurels.'

A bunch of ugly cheering rose from the Ares table, and I glared over at them.

'Personally,' Mr D continued,'I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Peter Johnson.'

I rolled my eyes, as Chiron murmured something.

'Er, Percy Jackson,' Mr D corrected.'That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on.'

Everybody cheered. We all headed down towards teh amphitheatre, where Apollo's cabin, as usual led a sing-along. We sang camp songs about the gods and ate toasted marshmallows and joked around, and I truly felt at peace after all that happened at Hogwarts that year. Not saying that I didn't love Hogwarts too. I did, it was just nice to have a break from it. To not have to face homework, and moody professors, and obnoxious Slytherins, and almost-fatal danger.

All of which we didn't have here. Except for the last one, occasionally.

I sighed, and closed my eyes, at peace. 'You've had quite a year, haven't you?'

I opened them, to see Luke looking at me, amused. 'Yes, yes I have. It was fun though, and I can't wait to go back.'

'Well, sure you do, whatever has the power to take you away from me, the most amazing person ever, most be awesome.'

I punched him in the shoulder, and he mocked hurt. I laughed at him.

'How was your year?'

His face fell slightly. 'Oh, you know, the usual.'

'Training, training, eating, and more training.'

He smiled, and I was glad. Luke was no fun in a bad mood. I ruffled his hair.

'I missed you, Blondie.'

'I missed you too, weirdo.'

I punched him again, and he tried to dodge, laughing his hearty laugh as he did so.

Yep. It was good to be back.


	8. Beginner

Percy POV

Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag.

My fingers curled around the Minotaur horn. I thought about my mom, but I had good thoughts:  
>her smile, the bedtime stories she would read me when I was a kid, the way she would tell me not to let the bedbugs bite.<p>

When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep instantly.

That was my first day at Camp Half-Blood.

I wish I'd known how briefly I would get to enjoy my new home.

The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs and a centaur.

Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird. I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English. After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache.

The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at. Chiron and Skylar tried to teach me archery, but we found out pretty quick I wasn't any good with a bow and arrow. Chiron didn't complain, even when he had to desnag a stray arrow out of his tail, while Skylar just laught when I nearly got her in the face.

Foot racing? No good either. The wood-nymph instructors left me in the dust. They told me not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods. But still, it was a little humiliating to be slower than a tree.

And wrestling? Forget it. Every time I got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize me.

"There's more where that came from, punk," she'd mumble in my ear.

The only thing I really excelled at was canoeing, and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur. I could tell from the worried expression on Skylar's face, on the way back from the lake.

"I'm sorry," I said, embarassed.

She looked surprised. "For what?"

"For being crap at everything." I admitted.

She just rolled her eyes, denied it and continued walking.

I knew the senior campers and counsellors were watching me, trying to decide who my dad was, but they weren't having an easy time of it. I wasn't as strong as the Ares kids, or as good at archery as the Apollo kids. I didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork or - gods forbid - Dionysus' was with vine plants. Luke told me I might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. But I got the feeling he was just trying to make me feel better. He really didn't know what to make of me either. The only one I thought might have an idea of who my dad was, was Skylar, but if she did know, she wasn't saying.

Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning for over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night. I would eat dinner with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real dad. Nothing came. Just that warm feeling I'd always had, like the memory of his smile. I tried not to think too much about my mom, but I kept wondering: if gods and monsters were real, if all this magical stuff was possible, surely there was some way to save her, to bring her back...

I started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes. So okay, maybe gods had important things to do. But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something? Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't my dad, whoever he was, make a phone appear?

Skylar's POV:  
>Thursday afternoon, three days after Percy had arrived at camp, he had his first sword-fighting lesson. Everybody from Hermes' cabin were gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be their instructor. I decided to sit in the podiums and watch.<p>

They started with basic stabbing and slashing, using the stuffed dummies. Percy did okay. He seemed to know what to do and his reflexes were exactly what they should be.

I noticed immediately that he seemed to have a problem with the swords. Luke did too, and tried his best to help Percy, but he told Percy that none of the practice blades seemed to work for anyone, let alone him.

They moved on to duelling in pairs. Luke decided he would partner with Percy, because it was his first time. I groaned inwardly. Luke. Was going. To _kill_ him.

Luke showed Percy some thrusts and parries and shield blocks, the hard way. With every jab, Percy got a bit more battered and bruised. "Keep your guard up, Percy," Luke would say, then hit him in the ribs with the flat of his sword.

When Luke called a break, Percy looked like he was about to collapse. I got up out of my seat and walked down the steps towards the group swarming the ice box. I watched Luke pour water over his head, and got an idea. A brilliant idea, that could prove the theory I had formed about Percy. I grabbed a bottle of water, opened it, walked over to Percy and poured it over him.

The first thing that crossed his face was shock, then strength seemed to fill him and a look of relief appeared on his features. Theory proved. _Crap._  
>"Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke announced. "if Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo."<p>

I braced myself. _"Please work, please don't let him get pulverized."_

Cabin eleven stood in a circle around Percy and Luke, all trying to hold back smirks. A scowl appeared on my face. _"Please work!"_ I thought again.

Luke told everyone he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the opponent's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he couldn't help but drop his weapon.

I recognised the move from his description, and my scowl deepened. It was hard, especially for someone who was just starting to learn.

"This is difficult." Luke said. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique."

He demonstrated the move in slow motion. Immediately, the sword flew out of Percy's hand.

"Now in real time," Luke said, after Percy had picked back up his sword. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"

Percy nodded, and Luke got stuck in. Percy managed to keep him from getting a shot at the hilt of his sword. He stepped forward and tried a thrust of his own. I watched Luke as he deflected it, and started pressing harder on Percy.

Percy tried the disarming manoeuvre. His blade hit the base of Luke's and Percy twisted, putting his entire weight into the thrust.

Luke's sword fell to the floor at his feet, and Percy's sword met with Luke's chest.

I beamed, delighted.

Percy lowered his sword. "Um, sorry."

Luke stared incredulously at Percy for a couple of seconds, lost for words.

"Sorry?" His lopsided smile appeared. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again."

Percy tried again, but this time, there was no contest. Luke disarmed him the moment their swords met.

After a minute, one of the Hermes kids said, "Beginner's luck?"

Luke wiped his face, and looked at Percy with obvious curiousity. "Maybe," he said,"But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword..."

I jumped over tha barrier to congratulate Percy. I raised an eyebrow at him, and said, "Not so crap at everything now, are we?"

He grinned, and we walked back to cabin eleven.


	9. Grover's Goal

It was Friday afternoon, and I was sitting with Percy and Grover at the lake, resting from a quick go on the climbing wall. Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat (naturally), I had managed to climb up quite fast and I was unharmed (for once), but the lava had almost gotten Percy. His shirt had little tiny holes burned into it and he no longer had any hairs on his forearms.

We all sat on the pier, looking into the water, and I waved some basket-weaving naiads that I could see in the dark depths. We sat in silence, the first bit of quiet we had gotten since the start of camp. I snuck quick glances at my quiet companions, wondering what was going on in their heads that would leave them with not a word to say.

Grover looked miserable, and there was no wondering why. He had not told me what his discussion with Mr D had been about, but I could guess; His second chance at getting a searcher's license had gone up in smoke, and now he had to choose a new career path.

Percy looked nervous. I noticed him swallow several times in a row, his Adam's apple bobbing like a buoy on the ocean. He was also secretly looking at Grover, and my curiosity piqued. Every few minutes, he looked like he was about to say something but then closed his mouth before he could get the words out.

Eventually, this short routine ended when Percy blurted out. "So, how'd your conversation with Mr D go?"

I watched Grover turn a puke shade of yellow, and his eyes travelled upwards to meet mine, but I looked away, not making eye contact.

"Fine," Grover said, weakly. "Just great"

"So your career's still on track?"

At this point, I made a face. This didn't seem like this was going to be a happy conversation. This time, I couldn't help but look at Grover, and there was a hint of accusation in his eyes.

"You told him that I want a searcher's license?" He asked me, nervously.

"No. I don't think Percy knows what a searcher's license is." I answered, and then turned to Percy as he continued.

"Skylar just said you had big plans, you know… and that you needed credit for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?"

Grover turned his face away towards the water, watching the naiads that now seemed to be sewing, with a fish-bone needle and seaweed for thread.

"Mr D suspended judgement. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete."

Percy had a look of hope on his face. "Well, that's not so bad, right?"

"Blaa-ha-ha! He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty," Grover snorted. "The chances of you getting a quest… and even if you did, why would you want me along?"

"Of course I'd want you along!" Percy exclaimed, slightly indignant.

Grover frowned sadly at the naiads. "Basket-weaving… must be nice to have a useful skill."

I decided now was my time to intervene. "Grover, enough, we've had this discussion before. You have many talents, like being the fastest person on two cloven hooves I know, and you can also make the most delicious enchiladas I've ever had."

"And no matter what Mr D, you still got me here safely; I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you!" Percy added.

This, however, just seemed to make Grover more miserable. Instead, we talked about canoeing and swordplay, I showed them some of the spells I had learned at school, then we debated the pros and cons of different gods, during which I had to remain largely neutral.

Afterwards, Percy asked, "Why are there four cabins empty?"

"Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," Grover said. "She vowed to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad."

"Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?"

All the hairs on Grover's legs stood up. Percy was getting close to a touchy subject.

"No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," he said. "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals. That's her husband's job. When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos."

"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."

"Right. You know. After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."

"Zeus got the sky," I remembered. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld."

"Uh-huh."

"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here."

"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here …" Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's leave it at that."

"Hades isn't too bad once you get to know him," I interjected. "Sure, he's not the life and the soul of the party, but he can be fun… when he wants to!"

Grover just gave me a disbelieving look, to which I just replied by sticking my tongue out.

"But Zeus and Poseidon - they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?"

Grover clicked his hooves together anxiously, and readjusted himself. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."

We heard a roll of thunder, and flickers of lightning crossed the sky. "Oh hush," I reprimanded. "This is a private conversation."

"Swearing on the River Styx," Percy said. "That's the most serious oath you can make."

Grover nodded.

"And the brothers kept their word-no kids?"

Grover's eyes turned gloomy. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo-he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia... well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."

"But that isn't fair.' It wasn't the little girl's fault."

Grover paused. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here along with the help of another half-blood with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."

He pointed across the valley, to Thalia's Tree. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she and the keeper's friend held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. The other half-blood was knocked unconscious, so Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."

I stared at the tree in the distance, silently wiping away my fallen tears.

The story always made me feel worthless, and guilty too. Thalia, who had been the age I am now, had sacrificed herself to save Grover, myself and her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. While I lay unconscious and unaware at the base of a tree which would go on to be the neighbour of Thalia's pine tree. It had been all my fault and Grover still blamed himself for it.

"Grover," Percy enquired, "have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?"

At once, my attention was focused on Percy, and I knew immediately what was running through his mind.

"Sometimes," Grover replied. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini."

"And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"

"No. Never. Orpheus came close… Percy, you're not seriously thinking-"

"No," Percy faltered as he lied. "I was just wondering. So … a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"

Grover studied Percy warily. He hadn't persuaded him that he'd really dropped the Underworld idea. "Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems."

"And you found me. Chiron said you thought I might be something special."

I saw Grover silently gulp, and he looked as if he had just been caught out.

"I didn't… Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you were-you know-you'd never ever be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?"

Both Grover and I knew he was lying very badly, and Percy seemed to know that there was something up.

"Seriously, Percy, don't worry. We've got capture the flag after dinner, that's always something to look forward to. You still gonna be on my team?"

Percy nodded, smiling slightly, reassured. I changed the subject, and asked Percy what his favourite food was. I would have to talk to Grover later about keeping secrets better.

That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual, because now, at last, it was time for the first capture the flag of the summer.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, my first author's note for this story mainly concerns the fact that I've only gotten one review, and if there are people reading, I'd love if they could review, just so I know what they think of the story so far, and if they have any ideas on how I could improve, it'd be really lovely and would make my day, or night, depending.

Lots of love,

CaChrisSo

xx


	10. Revelations

I know, I'm terrible, its been ages! I know. I am sooooo sorry. I'll try not to let it happen again. You know, if anyone. I'd just like to thank everyone and anyone whose viewed, fav'd or followed this, it means so much. :) Now, this is where I beg for reviews. Please, just so I know what people think, I'd be forever in your debt. Just say if you like it, or if you didn't, maybe suggest where I could improve and/or change things. Thankies.

Havent done one yet. Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Percy Jackson, or later on, Harry Potter, or any of the characters. All I own is my Skylar. :)

* * *

><p>After dinner, the entire camp seemed to divide along an imaginary line into two groups: Ares and their allies and Athena and their allies.<p>

I had decided to go with Athena, as a favour to Annabeth. And anyway, I'd probably end up murdering Clarisse if I was on her side.

We all yelled with excitement as Annabeth, along with two of her sisters ran into the pavilion carrying our silk banner, a ten foot long, painting of a barn owl right above an olive tree, with a dark silver background.

The other side cheered, as two of Ares' children, with Clarisse came in with their banner, a dirty red painting of a boar's tusked head and a bloody, battle worn spear.

Percy turned to Luke and I. "Those are the flags?"

Luke grinned lopsidedly. "Yeah."

"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"

"No, not always." I answered. "But a lot of the time, yes."

Percy became slightly confused.

"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do- repaint the flag?"

Luke and I just smirked mischievously. "You'll see. First we have to get one."

"Whose side are we on?" Percy asked Luke.

Luke had a sly look on his face, the shadows becoming more pronounced, and a certain kind of darkness showed. It frightened me. "We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you are going to help."

Chiron then announced the teams. Athena's cabin had allied with Apollo, Hermes and me. The Athenians had traded their shower times, which were the best in the camp, with Hermes, and had offered to do all of Apollo's cabin's chores to gain their support.

Cabin Six were _the_ plan makers, Apollo's children were some of the most athletic in the camp, and there was a vast number in Hermes' cabin.

Cabin Five had allied with everyone else, but we had the edge. Mr D's boys, Pollux and Castor, were pretty good at sports, but there were only two of them. Cabin Four were brilliant with plants and animals, and excelled in the outdoors, but most were non-aggressive. Aphrodite's children, well, not much to say there. The children of Hephaestus were strong and tough, but there were short in number, and were slightly non-confrontational. The biggest threat was Cabin five themselves: Twelve big, strong, physically capable teenagers, that would mince you as soon as they would look at you.

Soon enough, Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble floor.

"Heroes!" he proclaimed. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"

He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with gear: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxide shields coated in metal, bows and arrows, knives, daggers and for some reason, the occasional spoon.

I completely ignored what was offered, and instead reached into my bag, hidden under the table, where I kept my gear. Inside were my perfect fit armour (including the chest piece, and my helmet), my shield and my sword, Kentri, meaning Pricker. I picked the name when I was eight, don't judge. I already had my secret weapons on me; my necklace, that when rubbed, became a gold and silver bow and a set of never-ending celestial bronze arrows, which was a gift from Artemis and Apollo, and my wand, which I wasn't meant to use, but who was gonna know?

Percy and I were placed on border-patrol. Normally, I would be right in the midst of the chaos, but making sure Percy didn't get slaughtered was a bit more important.

My shield was the size of a hubcap, with the Olympian symbol in the centre, and weighed almost no more than a feather. It's weight and size helped me run faster, but one serious blow would break it one day. My helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. The others all had red.

Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"

My excitement grew, adrenaline filling me up, and we followed her down to the south woods. The red team yelled insults and jibes at us as we left.

I watched Percy run up to Annabeth, and I slowed down so I could walk with Luke.

"You nervous?"

He snorted. "Me, nervous?" I raised an eyebrow, and he smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. Always am."

"Well, you're being stupid."

"Oh?"

"If anyone can lead us to victory, it's you."

At this point, he resembled a puppy that had just brought the stick to its owner, and he tugged the end of my ponytail.

"Looking forward to border patrol?"

"Ooh, can't wait!" I replied sarcastically.

Luke just threw his head back in a laugh, wished me luck, and pushed ahead to lead the troops.

It was a hot, humid evening. The trees were cloaked in darkness and the only light came from the odd firefly that popped into view. Percy and I were stationed next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks. Percy looked kinda silly, with his big blue-feathered helmet and a massive shield. His bronze sword was too heavy, making him stoop slightly. At least we were near enough to water, if push came to shove.

The conch horn blew far off in the distance. Shouts and yells echoed from the woods, along with sounds of metal clashing. Suddenly, Will Solace raced passed me, faster than fast, and leapt into the red team's territory.

I let out a sigh. Look's like I'll be missing out on all the fun.

Then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by.

Percy must've heard it too, because we both raised our shields at the same time.

Then the growling stopped. I felt the presence retreating. We shared a quick look, before five Reds exploded out of the dark.

The leader, who I recognised as Clarisse, yelled "Cream the punk!"

Small, angry eyes glared at Percy through the slits in her helmet, and her five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light, seemed to intensify amidst her fury. Thank the gods her brothers only had the standard bronze swords.

They all charged across the stream, and I rushed to help Percy, or at the very least, serve as a distraction so that he could flee.

Percy avoided the first swing, and I deflected the second, but Clarisse still managed to get through with her spear. I winced. Although the tip hadn't touched his skin, it still packed a punch. Damn her and her ridiculous electric spear. Percy stumbled, dazed, when Mike, the tallest of all the Ares kids, hit him I the chest with the hilt of his sword, causing Percy to fall.

"Give him a haircut," Clarisse laughed. "Grab his hair."

Percy struggled to his feet. I rubbed my necklace, and my bow appeared in my hands, along with my quiver across my back, but Mike, the numbskull, rushed to restrain me. Mike didn't look much, but he was very strong. So strong, that I found it hard to breathe. Percy was on his own now. Percy went to defend himself with his sword, but Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear.

"Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared."

"The flag is that way," Percy told her, panicked.

"Yeah," Mike said, high up above my head. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."

"You do that without my help," Oh gods, Percy, why?!

Two of them flew at Percy as he backed up toward the creek. He tried to raise his shield, but Clarisse was too fast, getting him right in the ribs. Percy spasmed, and one of the others took the opportunity to slash his sword across Percy's arm.

I tried to voice my outrage, but Mike was too quick. "Now, now, princess!"

"No maiming," Percy spat out,

"Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege."

I let out a breath of relief when they pushed Percy into the creek. Don't give me a look, I know he's my friend, just wait and see. Percy's eyes widened and he looked as if someone had injected him with pure caffeine.

Clarisse and her cabinmates went into the creek to get him, but he stood to meet them. He swung the flat of his sword against the first boy's head and knocked his helmet clean off.

Another two boys charged at him. Percy slammed one in the face with his humongous shield and used his sub-standard sword to shear off the second boy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed off pretty sharpish. Mike released me, and didn't look really enthusiastic about attacking, so using this to my advantage, I elbowed him in the face and then I kneed him in the groin. Clarisse kept going, the point of her spear crackling with electricity. As soon as she thrust, Percy caught the shaft between the edge of his shield and his sword, and snapped it clean in two.

"Ah!" she roared. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"

She probably would've kept shouting, had Percy not smacked her between the eyes with the hilt of his sword and sent her stumbling backward.

Suddenly we could hear screams of excitement, and I saw Luke speeding towards us with the red team's banner lifted in the air. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. All the Ares kids struggled to their feet, and Clarisse whispered a curse.

"A trick!" she growled. "It was a trick."

They tried to overtake Luke, but it was in vain. Every camper from both sides converged on the creek as Luke ran into friendly territory. Athena and her allies burst into cheers. The ugly red banner glistened and became a light blue. The boar and spear were replaced with a massive white caduceus. Everybody else on the blue team hoisted Luke up into the air and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the trees and blew his conch horn, signalling that the game had ended. And we'd won.

* * *

><p>I made my way over to Percy, who looked both exhausted and exhilarated at the same time. He flashed me a tired smile and I hugged him in celebration.<p>

"Well done."

"You too."

I scoffed. "Yeah, I did such a good job. I really excel at being restrained."

We shared a laugh. "Good job getting out of it."

We made to join the celebration when Annabeth said, "Not bad, hero."

Percy started, and glanced around, looking. I held back a giggle. Annabeth, ever the dramatic.

"Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" she asked him. The air shimmered, and she appeared, holding her magical Yankees baseball cap.

Percy's face turned red with anger, not phased by her sudden appearance.

"You set me up," Percy accused her. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."

Annabeth shrugged, with no defending herself "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."

"A plan to get me pulverized."

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but …" She shrugged. "You didn't need help."

"You certainly didn't. You take care of the Ares' kids all on your own." I interrupted, and I couldn't disguise the proud tone in my voice.

Then, both Annabeth and I glanced at Percy's arm at the same time. I froze.

"How did you do that?" Annabeth asked curiously,

"Sword cut," Percy said, as if it was obvious. "What do you think?"

"No. It used to be a sword cut. Look, Percy." I pointed, shakily.

The blood was gone. Where a sore looking cut had been, there was a jagged white scratch, and it was beginning to fade. As we watched, it turned into a small scar, and vanished.

"I-I don't get it," Percy mumbled, confused.

Annabeth was fast coming to the conclusion I had come to a few days ago. Metaphorical smoke poured out of her ears because of the speed at which her brain cogs were working. She glanced down at the water, where Percy was still standing, then at Clarisse's broken 'battle stick', and said, "Step out of the water, Percy."

"What-"

"Just do it."

Percy stepped out of the creek and immediately began to fall forward, before Annabeth and I caught him.

"Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want … I assumed it would be Zeus…."

"It would be so much better if it was Zeus." I agreed.

The large canine growl sounded again, but a lot closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest.

All the campers fell silent. Chiron shouted for us to ready ourselves, and for someone to give him his bow.

I rubbed my necklace, and quickly notched an arrow on my bowstring.

There on the rocks high above us stood a black hound the size of a rhino, with blood-red eyes and fangs like shards of glass. And it was glaring at Percy.

Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!"

She tried to step in front of him, but the hound was too fast. It leapt over her and just as it collided with Percy, I, along with every archer in the camp, shot an arrow right in the hound's neck. The monster slumped, dead at Percy's feet.

Somehow, perhaps because of the gods, Percy was still alive. But he didn't look like he could last long. His armour was nothing more than metal shreds, and each piece dripped red.

Chiron trotted up next to us, his bow in his hand, with a grimace on his face.

"Di immortales!" Annabeth stuttered. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't … they're not supposed to …"

"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."

Luke dashed over, with a face full of concern.

Clarisse screamed, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"

I spun around, rounding on her, and I felt my eyes turn a dark green. "How could he? He hasn't been at the camp long enough to know such complex magic."

"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her, and placed a hand on my shoulder, calming.

We all watched the hellhound body vanish and sink into the ground.

"You're wounded," Annabeth said, quickly. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."

"I'm okay."

"No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."

Percy made to argue, but I interrupted him. "Percy, trust us, step into the creek."

He did so, and his wounds instantly began to heal. Some of the campers backed up, shocked.

"Look, I-I don't know why," Percy rushed, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry…."

Faster than lightning, a green, glowing trident appeared over Percy's head, spinning and shining in the dull light of the moon. My suspicions had been right. Go gut instinct!

"Percy…um …"Annabeth murmured. "Your father. This is really not good."

"It is determined," Chiron announced with finality in his voice.

We all knelt, most of the campers in awe, some extremely unhappy, and I was both worried and full of joy.

"My father?" Percy questioned, bewildered.

"Poseidon," Chiron began. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

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><p>Thanks again for reading! Don't forget to review! :D Go raibh míle maith agat!<p> 


	11. Change

Sooooooooooo sorry for the delay. Busy, busy, busy and I've kinda had writer's block and no imagination. I beg forgiveness. You learn stuff in this chapter, so yay for you. reviews would be lovely! Enjoy, mes amis!

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><p>Early the next morning, Chiron moved Percy into cabin three.<p>

To say that Percy, standing alone in his new cabin, with only a few belongings to fill the whole space, and several beds for just one person, was a sad sight, would be an understatement.

Quickly, Percy became isolated from the rest of the camp. Everyone was talking about the hellhound incident behind his back, and the other campers avoided him as much as they possibly could. Hermes' cabin refused to have sword class with him, after what had happened with the Ares kids, so instead Luke, and I on occasion, worked with him. Luke worked harder with him than he had with anyone else, and wasn't afraid to send Percy away with a few cuts and bruises.

Annabeth's animosity towards Percy had grown, all because of that stupid grudge Athena held towards Poseidon. Well, not stupid, but passing it on to their children seemed a bit much. For Annabeth, a quest with Percy was her worst nightmare.

"He's a son of Poseidon, Skylar!" Annabeth exclaimed one night, in the Big House.

"I know."

"How am I meant to work with him, go on a quest with him!" She was like a hurricane. An angry one.

"You don't even know if this quest is still happening, Annabeth, calm down." She didn't, and continued to pace a hole in the rug.

"Sit." I said, forcefully. "Now, look, if you want this quest to happen, you'll just have to suck it up and get on with it, because I doubt Chiron is going to let you if you keep this up."

"Ugh." She facepalmed. "I've got to make a plan."

After everything that happened, I still talked to Percy. I knew what it was like to have people question you and judge you, because of power. Percy needed a friend, and I was determined to be one. Now, really, I see myself as quite a calm person, just with a quick temper. So if anyone did anything to hurt one of my friends, well, that just pushes me over the edge. When that happens, people can end up with black eyes, curses inflicted upon them and sometimes spiders in their beds. So when a copy of the _New York Daily News,_opened to the Metro page, detailing Percy and his mother's disappearance, was left outside Poseidon's cabin, there was war. I went to every single cabin and spoke to them all calmly. "He's different, yes, but so is everyone here. I don't care who did it. Just be aware that if something like it happens again, the culprit will have me to answer to, and let me tell you, I am not above hanging you up by your collar to the top of your cabin with an arrow." See, that was calm.

During the night, Grover came to see me in Hera's cabin. Wait, hold it, I hear you say. Hera's cabin? But she's-. Yes, I know. Listen. I suppose I'd better explain myself.

Alright, here goes. I'm not really a demigod, because I don't have a godly parent. But, I am a demigod, technically. Gods, confusing much?

Anyway, I wasn't…conceived, so much as created. You see, there was this prophecy, that a child of the Big Three would be, like the end of the world or the saviour of the world. So, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades aren't allowed kids. (Seeing how Percy exists, you can see how well that went.) This kinda annoyed Poseidon and Hades. So, to appease them, and to unify all the gods in a way, Zeus did a thing. A big thing.

He asked each Olympian to give a bit of their essence, and combined them in this big jar, like he was making a cake mixture. Then Hermes went to Earth, and chose a woman to place this…cake mixture into. Which then, after nine months, became me. I know, confusing.

Completely unbelievable. But true. So I have no godly parent, really, because they're all my godly parents. This way, all the Olympians have one child, sort of. Even more confusing. Huh. This means that I've got these weird powers, like staying dry in water and being able to shoot an arrow straight with my eyes closed. All this, on top of the fact that I turned out to be a wizard.

I'm not perfect, though, if that's what you think. I have a quick temper. I'm not dyslexic, but I do have ADHD which means I can't sit still. Like ever. I just fidget. I'm good at most of my classes, except History of Magic, during which I nap. I can be sarcastic and rude when I want to be. And the thing with my eyes, well, I'm a Metamorphmagus. I don't really ever bother changing my appearance, but I'm emotional (really emotional), so when ever I get cross or sad, boom, bye-bye brown eyes.

It's annoying. I can never hide what I'm feeling, not if you really know me. I can't really control my powers, not yet, anyway. Basically, I suck.

Back to Grover. When he came to me, he asked me to come see Percy with him. When we arrived, Percy had just woken up from a nightmare. Later on, he described it to me.

It started off Percy was running along the beach in a storm.

About a hundred yards down the surf, two men were fighting. They looked like WWE wrestlers, muscular, but with beards and long hair. Both wore flowing Greek tunics, one trimmed in blue, the other in green. They grappled with each other, wrestled, kicked and head-butted, and every time they connected, lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, and the wind rose.

Percy knew he had to stop them, but the harder he tried to run, the more the wind blew him back, until he was running in place, treading sand.

They were fighting over something that had gone missing, that had been taken, and were blaming each other. The storm grew worse and worse and the ground shook. Laughter emitted from somewhere below him, and a voice so deep and evil it turned Percy's blood cold _._

"Come down, little hero", the voice coaxed. "_Come down!"_

The sand split up beneath him, and he fell into the crack, down towards the centre of the earth.

Mr. D wanted to see Percy, and this had Grover worried.

We all walked up to the Big House. Grover was anxious, Percy was nervous, and I just missed my bed.

The sky above looked like was dark as heck, and a big bunch of rain clouds were coming in our direction. Percy asked Grover if we needed an umbrella.

"No," he said. "It never rains here unless we want it to."

The storm loomed. "What the heck is that, then?"

He glanced uneasily at the sky. "It'll pass around us. Bad weather always does."

We walked up to the front porch of the Big House. Mr. D sat at the pinochle table in his tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt with his Diet Coke. Chiron sat across the table in his fake wheel-chair. They were playing imaginary opponents, the cards enchanted to act themselves.

"Well, well," Mr. D said without looking up. "Our little celebrity."

"Come closer," Mr. D said. "And don't expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father."

Lightning flashed across the clouds and the windows shook with the force of the thunder.

"Blah, blah, blah," Dionysus said.

Chiron feigned interest in his pinochle cards. Grover cowered by the railing, his hooves clopping back and forth.

"If I had my way," Dionysus said, "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats safe from harm."

"Spontaneous combustion _is_ a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron put in.

"Nonsense," Dionysus said. "Boy wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, sending you back to your father."

"Mr. D—" Chiron warned.

"Oh, all right," Dionysus relented. "There's one more option. But it's deadly foolishness." He rose, and the enchanted cards fell to the table. "I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you're at all smart, you'll see that's a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do."

Dionysus picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a security pass.

He snapped his fingers, and Apparated, leaving nothing but the smell of freshly-pressed grapes.

Chiron smiled at Percy, but he looked tired and strained. "Sit, Percy, please. And Grover and Skylar."

We did.

Chiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he hadn't gotten to use.

"Tell me, Percy," he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"

I groaned inwardly. Annabeth was going to be delighted.

"It scared me," Percy admitted. "If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead."

"You'll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you're done."

"Done ... with what?"

"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?"

Percy looked to Grover, who was crossing his fingers.

"Um, sir," Percy said, "you haven't told me what it is yet."

Chiron grimaced. "Well, that's the hard part, the details."

All I could feel was the thunder pulsing through my blood and lightning flashed like strobe lights. I was now fully awake. Gods and their tantrums.

"Poseidon and Zeus," Percy said. "They're fighting over something valuable ... something that was stolen, aren't

they?"

Chiron and Grover paused, and looked at each other.

Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. "How did you know that?"

"Most likely the usual way." I murmured. Chiron nodded.

"The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and she'd overheard something about a theft. And ... I've also been having these dreams." Percy confessed, cautiously.

"I knew it," Grover said.

"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered.

"But it is his quest!" Grover's eyes were bright with excitement. "It must be!"

"Only the Oracle can determine." Chiron stroked his bristly beard. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."

Percy laughed, almost hysterically. "A _what_?"

"Do not take this lightly," Chiron warned. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylin-der of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."

"Oh."

"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, getting worked up now. "The symbol of his power, from which all other light-ning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."

"And it's missing?"

"Stolen," Chiron said.

"By who?"

"By _whom_," Chiron corrected. Someone loves their grammar a bit too much. "By you."

My brain broke. Percy steal…Zeus' bolt? The god has seriously lost it.

"At least"—Chiron held up a hand—"that's what Zeus thinks. During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument. The usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best,' Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters,' et cetera. Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon. Now, a god cannot usurp another god's symbol of power directly—that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."

"But I didn't—"

"Patience and listen, child," Chiron said. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne. The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."

"But I've never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!"

Chiron and Grover glanced nervously at the sky. The clouds all converged above us, resembling the lid of a boiling pot. Metaphorically speaking, we were now lobsters.

"Er, Percy ...?" Grover said. "We don't use the _c_ -word to describe the Lord of the Sky."

"Perhaps _paranoid,"_Chiron suggested. "Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam..."

Chiron was waiting for an answer.

"Something about a golden net?" Percy asked. "Poseidon and Hera and a few other gods ... they, like, trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out until he promised to be a better ruler, right?"

"Correct," Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since. Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offense at the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along—the proverbial last straw."

"But I'm just a kid!"

"Percy," Grover intoned, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, that he's fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you... Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"

"But I didn't do anything. Poseidon—my dad—he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"

Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June 21st, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see sense. But your arrival has inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"

"Bad?"

"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight."

"Very bad." I agreed.

"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."

And the it started to rain. Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky.

"So I have to find the stupid bolt," Percy said. "And return it to Zeus."

"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"

"If Poseidon doesn't have it, where is the thing?"

"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago ... well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."

"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?"

"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."

"Good reason."

"You agree then?"

Percy looked to Grover and me, and we nodded encouragingly.

"All right," Percy sighed "It's better than being turned into a dolphin."

"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."

All was quiet while Percy was gone. I was still in my pyjamas, and it was cold. The heavy rain made the air moist and clammy.

"Well?" Chiron asked Percy, as he sat down again at the table.

"She said I would retrieve what was stolen."

Grover sat forward, gnawing on the Diet Coke can. "That's great!"

"What did the Oracle say _exactly?"_Chiron pressed. "This is important."

"She . .. she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."

"I knew it," Grover said.

Chiron wasn't letting it go so easily. "Anything else?"

Percy paused. "No, that's about it."

Chiron analysed him. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."

"Okay," Percy said. "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"

"Ah, think, Percy," Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"

"Somebody else who wants to take over?"

"Yes, quite. Someone who harbours a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."

"Hades."

Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."

The can fell out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh-what?"

"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his iden-tity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."

"Yes, but—but Hades hates _all_ heroes," Grover protested.

"Except his own children." I added.

"Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon... ."

"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued. "Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."

"Great, that's two major gods who want to kill me." Percy cried, exasperated.

"But a quest to ..." Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."

"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."

Grover shook, and had devoured half of the pinochle cards already.

"Look, if we know it's Hades," Percy said, finally, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."

"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron said.

"Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades—and I imagine Poseidon does—they couldn't retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the otherhand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"

"You're saying I'm being used."

"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."

Percy looked at Chiron, and then at me. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"

"I had my suspicions. As I said ... I've spoken to the Oracle, too." Chiron said.

"Yes, at least, I had a hunch." I admitted.

"So let me get this straight. I'm supposed go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead." Percy listed.

"Check," Chiron said.

"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."

"Check."

"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."

"That's about right."

"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" Grover asked with a trembling mouth.

"You don't have to go," Percy told him. "I can't ask that of you.

"Oh ..." He shifted his hooves. "No ... it's just that satyrs and underground places ... well..."

He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt.

"You saved my life, Percy. If ... if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down." My little Grover, all grown up.

"All the way, G-man." Percy turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."

"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."

"Where?"

Chiron looked surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."

"Oh, naturally. So we just get on a plane—"

"No!" Grover and I exclaimed at once. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"

He shook his head, feeling embarrassed.

"Percy, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."

"Okay, so, I'll travel overland."

"That's right," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you, usually. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."

"Gee," Percy said, sarcastically. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"

Annabeth became visible behind Chiron, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket. Who else. My little Annabeth, off to fight monsters.

"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."

"If you do say so yourself," Percy said "I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?"

She flushed. "Do you want my help or not?"

"A trio," I said. "That'll work."

"Except," Chiron said. "Breaking with tradition, I was hoping that a more experienced camper would also accompany you three."

"Do you think Luke would really go on another quest?" I asked sceptically.

"I wasn't talking about Luke." Oh. Right. So much for having a break from danger, then.

"Me? Okay, I guess. Making it four" Except I have no clue how I can help. Annabeth, Grover and Percy all looked a little bit relieved that I was coming. Damn.

"Excellent. This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."

"No time to waste," Chiron reminded. "I think you should all get packing."

Only a couple of days into camp, and I'm already off on an adventure. Oh, joy.

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><p>I hope you understood everything. If not, Im stupid and apologise. i will answer any questions. Ok, love ye!<p>

reviews people! They are love!

Love

CaChrisSo


	12. Farewell

New chapter! Hope you liked the last one, hope you like this one! :D Disclaimer: I own nothing, but Skylar! :D

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><p>It took about fifteen minutes for me to pack. I was bringing with my wand, which I carried in my pocket, a dagger, which was strapped to my calf, a change of clothes, a rain jacket, a sleeping bag and my enchanted necklace, called Stochos, or Target, which when rubbed, changed into a gold and silver bow and quiver, with celestial bronze tipped arrows, a gift from Apollo and Artemis.<p>

The camp store loaned us one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas, which were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of the various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas, of course, had been silver, but Olympians never used less than pure gold. The coins could come in handy for non-mortal transactions—whatever they might be.

He gave Annabeth, Percy and I a canteen of nectar each and a resealable bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It was the food of the gods, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of nearly all injuries, but it was fatal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally.

Annabeth was bringing her trusty magic Yankees cap, which had been a twelfth birthday present from her mom, and had already proved its worth in the short amount of time since then. She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, and her long bronze knife, hidden in her sleeve. Percy was bringing a simple backpack, containing a change of clothes and a toothbrush, and that was it.

Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his papa goat had made for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes, especially when played by him.

We waved good-bye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be my friend, Thalia.

Chiron was waiting for us in his unneeded wheelchair. Next to him stood the camp's head of security, who had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so you could only see extra eyes on his hands, face and neck.

"This is Argus," Chiron told Percy. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."

I heard someone running towards us. Luke came running up the hill, carrying his special pair of basketball shoes.

"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."

Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around, and I grinned at her knowingly.

"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told us. "And I thought ... um, maybe you could use these." He handed Percy the sneakers, which, to the unsuspecting eye, looked pretty normal and even smelled kind of normal. Luke called, _"Maia!" _White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, shocking Percy so much, he dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.

"Awesome!" Grover said. Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression became sorrowful, and I felt a surge of pity for him.

"Hey, man," Percy said. "Thanks."

"Listen, Percy ..." Luke shifted back and forth, uncomfortably. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just ... kill some monsters for me, okay?"

They shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a good-bye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out, and one to me. After Luke was gone, Percy looked at Annabeth, "You're hyperventilating."

"Am not."

"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"

"Oh ... why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?"

She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road. Argus followed, jingling his car keys as he went. Percy picked up the flying shoes and gave them an almost hesitant look. He looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"

He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air ... that would not be wise for you."

Percy nodded, disappointed, but then his face brightened. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"

His eyes lit up. "Me?"

Percy laced one of his feet in, while I did the other. Now, standing before us, was the world's first flying goat boy, ready for launch.

_"Maia!" _he shouted.

He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos.

"Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"

"Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a demented lawn mower, heading toward the van.

Before we could follow, Chiron caught my arm, and Percy's. "I should have trained you better, Percy," he said. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason—they all got more training."

"That's okay. I just wish—" He stopped, a guilty look on his face.

"What am I thinking?" Chiron cried. "I can't let you get away without this."

He pulled a pen from his pocket and handed it over to Percy. It looked like an ordinary disposable ballpoint, black ink, removable cap. But I knew better.

"Gee," Percy said, sarcastically. "Thanks."

"Percy, that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."

Percy flipped off the cap, and the pen grew longer and heavier until he held a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip, and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs, in his hand.

"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron said. "Its name is Anaklusmos."

"'Riptide,'" Percy translated. "Very appropriate," I said, grinning.

"Use it only for emergencies," Chiron said, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword wouldn't harm them in any case."

Percy looked at the sharp blade. "What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals? How could it not?"

"The sword is celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first. But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They simply are not important enough for the blade to kill. And I should warn you: as a demigod, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are _twice _as vulnerable."

"Good to know."

"Now recap the pen."

Percy touched the pen cap to the sword tip and instantly Riptide shrank to a ballpoint pen again. Percy tucked it in my pocket, looking a little nervous.

"You can't," Chiron said, reading something in Percy's face that I couldn't.

"Can't what?"

"Lose the pen," he said. "It is enchanted. It will always reappear in your pocket. Try it."

Percy looked wary, but then threw the pen as far as he could down the hill and we watched it disappear in the grass.

"It may take a few moments," Chiron told us. "Now check your pocket." Sure enough, the pen was there, as promised.

"Okay, that's _extremely _cool," Percy sighed. "But what if a mortal sees me pulling out a sword?"

Chiron smiled. "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."

"Mist?"

"Yes. Read _The Iliad. _It's full of references to the stuff. Whenever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate Mist, which obscures the vision of humans. You will see things just as they are, being a half-blood, but humans will interpret things quite differently. Remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go to fit things into their version of reality. Skylar has read it about it, she might go into some more detail later."

Percy looked at me, and I nodded in assurance.

"Chiron ..." Percy said. "When you say the gods are immortal... I mean, there was a time _before _them, right?"

"Four ages before them, actually. The Time of the Titans was the Fourth Age, sometimes called the Golden Age, which is definitely a misnomer. This, the time of Western civilization and the rule of Zeus, is the Fifth Age."

"So what was it like ... before the gods?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "Even I am not old enough to remember that, child, but I know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. But that was mere propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap entertainment. It was only in the early reign of Lord Zeus, when Prometheus the good Titan brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then Prometheus was branded a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. Of course, eventually the gods warmed to humans, and Western civilization was born."

"But the gods can't die now, right? I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they're alive. So ... even if I failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up _everything, _right?"

Chiron gave him a melancholy smile. "No one knows how long the Age of the West will last, Percy. The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. _They _still exist, locked away in their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still very much alive. May the Fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. All we can do, child, is follow our destiny."

"Our destiny ... assuming we know what that is."

"Relax," Chiron told Percy. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."

"Relax," Percy said. "I'm very relaxed."

"Now," Chiron said, turning to me. "Skylar, I know you have done similar things to this before but-"

"I know. It's different when its a monster from the depths of Tartarus, with my death being it's number one plan, than it is to go up against a human wizard, who could easily change his mind, or chicken out. I realise that. I'm ready for that." I blurted out, rushing through the words. I had thought all that through long ago.

"Well then," Chiron smiled, pleased. "I have nothing more to say to you but, good luck."

Percy and I walked to the bottom of the hill, but then we looked back. Under the pine tree that was once Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Chiron was now standing in his centaur form, holding his bow high in salute. Just your typical summer-camp send-off by your typical centaur/hero trainer.

* * *

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